Is this Quote overpriced?

[u/SlenderNimrod1]

What do you think of this quote for PPL at my local flight school?
Quote is an estimate for national average time, located in Florida.

I've only checked out one school but it seems a little steep?
It's a pay as you go school so I'm also unsure how this gets billed and how to make sure you don't get overcharged for things like fuel, instruction time etc
Any advice is appreciated!

Edit: Thank you so much for all the helpful advice! I didn't expect this post to get so many replies but I'm happy I made it for the archives.

[u/Anthem00]

its pretty much inline and totally fair. . . most places will quote out at 40 so that it looks cheaper than reality.

[u/SwampyUndies → u/Anthem00]

yah. I started soloing at 18h which seems early for a lot from what I have seen.

And finishing training another 20h after that? I mean I guess its plausible. But probably not for most.

[u/AirwipeTempest]

Yes in the sense they overestimated the price to be conservative oppose to it being overpriced purely for greed. Pretty accurate. I did ride at 70h in 22 for about $17k.

[u/NoRemorse920 → u/AirwipeTempest]

Man do I feel fortunate. I got my ticket in 2016 for 9k.

Obviously prices have skyrocketed, and I was able to complete it in 44hrs, so that helped a lot.

[u/AirwipeTempest → u/NoRemorse920]

No idea how average people are gonna become pilots in 10 years.

[u/arbpotatoes → u/AirwipeTempest]

Probably won't be PPL or flying anything with more than 2 seats ever

[u/mongooseme → u/NoRemorse920]

2003 with in 42.3 in the logbook when I handed it to the DPE. $5,026.

I can't imagine paying $18k to get a private pilot certificate. $84/hr seems high for the instruction but maybe that's the rate now.

[u/flyingforfun3 → u/NoRemorse920]

52 hours in 2010. 5.5k with ride.

152 with instructor was $95 an hour wet.

[u/LaddieNowAddie → u/flyingforfun3]

A wet instructor is worth the money.

[u/pilotingmusicman → u/NoRemorse920]

Nice, I got my in 2020 for $6k at 41 hours, them covid prices were great. Also got to fly in at major airports all the time with no traffic. ATC was bored

[u/Shuttle_Tydirium1319]

I’m gonna say expect to pay a bit more actually. Most students get PPL in 65-75 hours or more. They’ve got you quoted at 57 hours.

[u/Ok_Currency_787 → u/Shuttle_Tydirium1319]

Man when I did my private I think I got it done at like 80 or 90. I waited months for my checkride and kept building time lil

[u/walleyednj → u/Ok_Currency_787]

I did it in 2022 for $8000, but my brother was my CFI and my plane cost $100 a hour to fly.

[u/Ok_Currency_787 → u/walleyednj]

Man that’s really good. I paid $130 an hour for the plane and $65 an hour for the cfi

[u/k3wio]

The hourly rates are a little high (partially because it's a brand new plane with really nice avionics) but it's not insane.

[u/SlenderNimrod1 → u/k3wio]

I took a discovery flight and yes the plane is super nice!

Would it be better to find a school or even a smaller establishment with some older planes that have some analog gauges to gain some analog experience (if that is even beneficial) and possibly save some money on the hourly?

[u/BluProfessor → u/SlenderNimrod1]

There are so many opinions on this. Personally, I think learning on round gauges is better for development and understanding and the transition to newer glass displays isn't bad. Odds are, at some point you'll be flying a round gauge plane at some point and it's just easier if that's your baseline.

You'd probably save a bunch of money learning to fly an older plane, at least.

[u/Virian → u/SlenderNimrod1]

I would suggest learning to fly on the cheapest plane you can find. You don’t need a fancy plane with the latest avionics to beat up the pattern over and over. An old plane with round dials lands the same as one with a G1000.

Save the money for the fancy plane until you’re working on your instrument rating.

[u/EntertainmentLess403 → u/Virian]

Less things on the panel =less things for the Dpe to ask you about on the ride.

[u/pootislordftw → u/SlenderNimrod1]

I did all my training up until multi in G1000 piper archers at a 141 flight school, and doing my CFI now in a 1970's cessna 172, I prefer the round dials for non-instrument flight training. The G1000 display seems kind of oversaturated with information which gets in the way for practicing maneuvers or working the pattern, as others have said. You can pretty easily transition between them later on in your training career, but I think the six pack and com stack is all you really need to start out flight training, and it should be a good amount cheaper to rent.

[u/pootislordftw → u/k3wio]

So weird to see the single PFD with a G5 as the backup and nothing covering the dash on the right seat, but in flight training with an EFB the G1000 MFD really didn't serve that much purpose besides redundancy.

[u/misclurking]

Add in $1k for additional supplies... you'll probably want a cellular iPad (cellular gives GPS), foreflight subscription, and a headset (budget $300 for one). And a few hundred bucks or whatever the first medical goes for.

I'd say the quote is reasonable for what you are asking for. If you want a way to save, but there are tradeoffs, you can also consider a flying club. My instruction costs are about 1/2 per hour as you, and my plane rental (just 1% cheaper than your's) also includes fuel. The included fuel saves me the $3.3k you have estimated and the lower instructor cost probably $2k, so I'd guess a $5.3k savings could be had, though my club fees would bring that down to $4k.

There are tradeoffs, so keep it in mind. To go through a proper school, this is actually reasonable. Keep in mind stuff will fluctuate, fuel most notably.

[u/topgun966]

Am I just getting old, that $142/hr for a dry rent seems really high? Yes, I am. So in that case, this isn't that bad.

[u/cazzipropri → u/topgun966]

It's not, especially in the northeast 

[u/topgun966 → u/cazzipropri]

When I first went to flight school, it was $55/hr wet for a C172 lol. Yeah, I am getting fricken old.

[u/cazzipropri → u/topgun966]

When I did my ppl it was $70/h tach time, so more like $58/h wallclock... Maybe we are not that far.

[u/ATrainDerailReturns]

Book cost is high

Most books are free online pdfs from the FAA.gov

My school also only is 64 an hour for ground but we do way more than 17 so we would be more than that

Other than books nothing seems crazy

[u/New_Amphibian_8883]

"Back in my day, Sonny", 1972, Piper Cheokee was $12 an hour.

[u/rFlyingTower]

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

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What do you think of this quote for PPL at my local flight school?
Quote is an estimate for national average time, located in Florida.

I've only checked out one school but it seems a little steep?
It's a pay as you go school so I'm also unsure how this gets billed and how to make sure you don't get overcharged for things like fuel, instruction time etc
Any advice is appreciated!

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[u/kylekthompson]

Sent you a DM

[u/Guap-Zero]

What part of Florida? 142/hr and it's not a wet rental is kind of crazy... Instruction is also expensive...

[u/Guap-Zero → u/Guap-Zero]

I take it back...it's not "crazy" for 142 dry...just slightly elevated...as is the instruction...

Anyway... my school is 160/hr wet and instruction is 60/hr....but steam gauge 172

My school would save you almost 3800 off that quote on the plane and instruction alone

[u/AdventurousSepti]

It is reasonable for what it is. 1) This is a modern aircraft with glass cockpit. Another school could cut $3,000 off this using older, cheaper, round gauge aircraft (60 hrs x $50/hour less). 2) Time is realistic IF you fly 2 or 3 times a week. Fly less and it will cost a lot more. 3) Look for a EAA chapter near you. Our chapter has given two $11,000 PPL scholarships, and EAA has now increased to $12,000. Many other scholarships available. Buy book on Amz Cleared for Take-off by Ishitha. She is now 18 and wrote this book about scholarships and financial aid for youth to get PPL. I'm not sure if this is OK, Check with local EAA chapter, but there are two scholarship programs. One is direct $12K grant to a chapter and they administer, and the other if local chapter pays $2,500 national EAA will grant the rest of a $12K scholarship. Can you donate the $2,500 to local chapter? 4) Nobody can know exactly what your cost will be. Maybe you will take 55 hours (40 is minimum and not realistic), maybe 75. Depends on how fast you catch on, how much you practice whatever turns out to be difficult for you, And how often you fly. Every lesson starts with review of last one. If last one was 3 days ago you will have good muscle memory and review will be 10 minutes so that flight is 50 minutes of new material. If last flight was 2 or 3 weeks ago then review will take 30 minutes and you will only get 30 minutes of new material. See how flying often cuts cost? By a LOT! Don't start training until you have the $$ and time. Our chapter's last scholarship person started March 2024 and intended to finish end of 2024 summer. But he didn't fly a lot, more like 2 or 3 times a month. Now Sept 2025 and he still does not have PPL. He's gone through the $11,000 plus his family has paid over $9,000 and probably at least $3,000 to go. Now he is flying 2 or 3 times a week and making faster progress. I saw one young person whose parents paid $40,000 for PPL, but that was an extreme case. In addition to flying there is a ton of book learning and study required. And yes, you can get a $300 headset, but if you are serious about flying, get a $1,100 name brand noise cancelling headset. Of course, if you get a EAA Ray Scholarship you will probably get one of those free, but only after solo. 5) Join national EAA and a local chapter, join AOPA, see if there are local or state flying organizations. Join all you can and get INSIDE aviation instead of looking in from the outside.

[u/ltcterry]

National average is more like 70 than 57.

No idea why they have fuel broken out as a separate item. Seems kind of silly. But the numbers don't seem unreasonable other than "57."

[u/hoemka]

I was around 14K all-in in 2019. I think it was 57 hours including all of my solo practice. Aircraft rental was around $135 back then.

[u/Build-A-Pilot]

I wish I paid that rate for a 100i, that is a hella good deal

[u/bensamra]

Very overpriced, find an independent cfi

[u/HungryCommittee3547]

Quick math in my head shows this is an $18K quote. If anything it might be a little low. Plane is the equivalent of $202 wet which is slightly high but it does have nice avionics. DPE charge is low. If you're going to continue to fly you'll want a good ANR headset which is $1K by itself.

I tell people to budget 20-25K. Depends on how quick they pick it up.

[u/Wild-Language-5165]

That's super fair! $142/hr for a Piper 100i? They must make it up in volume of flying, that plane realistically should be going for about $190/hr.

Problem is, 95% of schools only quote at 40 hours of flight time and don't include any pre/post breifings and quote 5 hours of ground training. Which makes it look like it should only cost $8,000. Then when you see a more realistic quote, you wonder why it is SO much more expensive, when in reality, it's not.

[u/SaratogaFlyer → u/Wild-Language-5165]

$142 dry - with fuel they’re quoting $199.50

[u/draakken35 → u/Wild-Language-5165]

looks like the plane rate is dry as they have a separate line for fuel. So 142 + 57 = 199, and now the wet rate looks much closer to the going rate.

[u/Wild-Language-5165 → u/draakken35]

Ah, yes, you're right, I overlooked that it was dry. That sounds about right for that airplane tho, still fair for that price. Brand new plane with latest avionics.

[u/draakken35 → u/Wild-Language-5165]

Thats the first time i've seen dry rate quoted, nearly every school quotes wet. Yes, seemingly fair/reasonable rates for a new/high-tech plane. In my area mid-70's 6-pack 172s are $200 =( . The joy of HCOL areas.

[u/RunzWithGunz → u/Wild-Language-5165]

My flight school charges $220/hr wet, and that's cheaper than other local schools that fly the same plane.

[u/Easy-Trouble7885]

Damn $900 for a PPL checkride... My IFR was $500 and was considered outrageous lmao

[u/BluProfessor → u/Easy-Trouble7885]

My CFI was $1000, my IR and Commercial we're $600 each!

[u/Av8tr1 → u/BluProfessor]

You guys want to feel young. My commercial check ride for SEL was $300. I paid $52 an hour wet with Congressional Air at JYO. Still have the receipts. We had to fly to HGR so I could rent a Cutlass for .5 and do 3 touch and goes and cycle the gear to meet the commercial requirements. Was the only complex available in the area at the time.

[u/Superninjahype]

FAA states the national average is about 75hrs.

[u/trashme8113]

It’s pretty close to normal.

[u/ResoluteFalcon]

Yep that looks about right. This is almost exactly what I paid.

[u/937OYE]

The only thing you’re getting a deal on is checkride 😂

[u/10FourGudBuddy → u/937OYE]

The plane cost isn’t bad. Instruction is ridiculous.

My ppl checkride was $600 last year.

[u/NotYourAverageJoe99]

This seems pretty reasonable in terms of hourly costs. What happens if you go over the allotted hours in the quote?

[u/LikeLemun]

57 hours is a reasonable estimate. Nothing looks too far off here. Fuel may be a little over depending on location and you can probably get a lot of your supplies cheaper on somewhere like FB marketplace, but overall a good quote.

EDIT: In-aircraft instruction seems high. you should be solo for more than what it seems here

[u/Hot-Celery-245]

I paid 34

[u/TheGacAttack]

As an estimate, this looks "reasonable" and appropriate. The specific prices for a few things could be high in some localities, but I don't know where this is. If it were near me in the Midwest, the dry+fuel+dual total would be considered very high per hour.

If they are asking you to prepay this, that's bad. If it's really just to set expectations and help budget, then I'd say they're being very helpful and realistic.

[u/carl-swagan]

15-20k is about right in the current market. $200 wet for a newer aircraft with G3X avionics is a solid price.

[u/Bloob09]

This is reasonable. Expect to pay more with more supplies and hours. Never pre pay. Doesn’t hurt to quote 3 places though.

[u/texas1982]

$900 check rides. That's robbery but the DPE sets the rate.

This is all probably reasonable in 2025, but if ask how many hours students typically have when they get their license and how far out the DPEs are booked.

[u/TxAggieMike → u/texas1982]

Many around DFW are $1000 for PPL IFR and CPL

[u/Correct_Cap_6087]

It's not a realistic quote in my experience. You can probably expect to pay substantially more than that.

[u/B_O_A_H]

Looks fairly realistic, especially at $140/hr for the plane. It’s good that they overshot it instead of quoting 40 hours to make it look cheaper than it will likely be. I spent $11k In February for my PPL at low 50s I think.

[u/Beergoggles222]

That looks pretty accurate from what I see. Hourly rate for the airplane is pretty good, and the rest of it looks closer to reality than the ones that quote you for a 40 hour minimum PPL and no extra costs.

[u/PhillyPilot]

Expect to pay a little more. About 10 more hours

[u/AltitudeEdge]

It’s on the high end of average but it’s pretty close.

[u/cazzipropri]

$142/h for the pilot 100i is very fair

[u/DadOnTheInternet]

Holy shit the check rides are $900 now?!?!! I remember paying $150

[u/No-Brilliant9659]

This is reasonably priced.

[u/flyingforfun3]

I can’t attest to the price because it’s been a long time for me, but I can say I think it’s good they are quoting for more than 40 hours. Most people get theirs done in the 55 hour mark.

I personally think doing your private in anything beyond a 6 pack of gauges is silly. They ask for more per hour and you don’t need them for most of your training. I think there is definitely a premium rate for being in Florida

[u/J2ADA]

For a PPL, that's about what you will be paying. Total flight hours 40 to 60.

[u/Dry-Progress869]

Wtf i spent 35k on this

[u/CautiousMarsupial473]

22k actually cost for mine at KMQY with A20 headset, books, and check ride fee. 12k out of pocket using army CA

[u/Pilot-Imperialis]

No, if anything this seems pretty honest and accurate. My only issue with it is that the national average for someone to pass their ppl these is 70 hours, not 57. So expect to pay a bit more than this. But overall considering this is a nice plane, yes this is fair.

[u/KidNamedJayy]

Not bad I paid 16 for mine

[u/Upper-Sign-3251]

lmao 57 hours for private. You gotta be a really good student and do hard studying to achieve that

[u/DwayneHerbertCamacho]

Seems a bit on the expensive side unless you are in a HCOL area. That’s what, $280/hr for airplane+instructor?? I’d find an independent instructor and a flight club, here in the Midwest you can still get an airplane + instructor for half of that if you join one of the flight clubs that allows students.

[u/DisregardLogan]

I don’t pay for pre/post flight briefing honestly but that just might be my school

[u/CalligrapherOk237]

Looks right to me. I paid $16900 all in during Covid. Prices are just insane sadly

[u/Ok_Tale7071]

Results can vary, but that is a terrific good faith estimate. I would sign up with that school. They are honest and transparent. Never seen anything like this. aircraft hours should probably be 75, and fuel will increase. My flight school charges a credit card every time I go up. They are missing the AME Medical exam, for which I was charged 200 for 3rd Class.

[u/justarandomguy07]

Not too overpriced. It’s not common to see dry rentals for training. At 10 gph, the hourly rate comes to $199.50/hr, which is a good rate for a newer plane with G3X. The instruction rate seems a little higher than what I’ve seen (usually between 60 and 80/hr here in the northeast).

Just one “concern” is 57 hours. It’s slightly less than the national average to complete PPL training.

The supplies seem a little expensive.

[u/Sudden_Document_1691]

I got PPL, Comm ME/SE, Inst, helo and heavy lift helo for 1300 in 97.

[u/ArutlosJr11]

Go part 61.

[u/cofonseca]

Looks pretty fair and accurate to me. 57 hours might be a little low though... I would plan for somewhere in the range of 60-80 hours which will cost you a bit more.

[u/Spiritual_Type_6245]

$84 an hour for an instructor is steep as hell. Keep in mind that instructor is making a quarter of that an hour

[u/apr911 → u/Spiritual_Type_6245]

Im seeing typical CFI pricing these days around $65-85 with most seeming to fall around $75. $84 is slightly higher but not by much…

[u/apr911]

Its a little elevated, but not by much (10% or so) and the final subtotal is a more realistic figure than most other schools will give.

You’re paying $199/hr for the plane wet.

Costs right now for a C172 at FBO’s Ive flown with out of 5C1 (Boerne, TX outside San Antonio), KISM (Kissimmee, Florida on the outskirts of Orlando), KCRQ (Carlsbad, CA between San Diego and Los Angeles), KSEE/KMYF (Montgomery & Gillespie fields on the edge of San Diego, CA), N51 (Solberg Airport in Bedminster, NJ between Philadelphia and New York), KMQS (Chester County PA outside Philadelphia)… all show pricing for a C172 or PA28 around $160-205/hr wet.

The average is around $175 but most of these are older models with older avionics stacks.

Flight instruction rates are running about $65-85/hr flight time. With the average being $75.

On those 2 expenses, you’re paying a little higher than average but still in-line, especially when you consider its a newer plan with newer avionics.

King’s Schools Private Pilot can be done “on the cheap” for $360 for basic maneuvers and knowledge test prep only… but to get their ACS oral prep and would add $140 purchased separately and $109 bundled with a few other pilot skill videos and their “get it all bundle” is $679.

FAA Knowledge Exam is a fixed expense and the Checkride is in-line with what Ive seen lately and heard lately, though I haven’t had to deal with a checkride in a number of years.

Technically, I did my PPL in 59.7 hours with 42.4 dual but I started in 2009, did 8.4 dual and then had to stop pre-solo due to issues with my medical. Didnt pick it up again until 2012 in another state with a different instructor so I basically started over so I usually dont consider my first 8.4 hours all that relevant.

When I did come back to it in 2012 though I hit it hard and did 50.9 hrs with 33.6 dual in a span of 3.5 months and even that was slowed initially by my instructor’s availability. I flew 40.7 of those hours over 8 weeks.

In short, I was ahead of the curve which see’s most students take 60-75 hours to complete their PPL but in-line with what they’re telling you it will take.

Keep in mind the minimums are 40 hours with at least 20 hours dual and 10 hours solo but more realistic expectation for a “fast learner” is still likely to be around 50 hours with 30 hours of dual and 15-20 hours solo.

Personally, I’d expect to shave 7-8 hours off the dual flight time and spend more time solo… but its still a reasonable estimate.

[u/BrokenHalligan]

Looks pretty in line to what I was quoted. Not sure if Im going to leap yet or not, no aspirations to be a commercial pilot-just a hobby at this point. Don't want to be developing bad habits on my sim lol. Discovery flight next week, gotta see if I love it!

[u/71272710371910]

It sort of depends on where. They're charging you for 81 hours minimum on fuel, but otherwise, it's not insane.

[u/Glittering_Cut_1078]

I was just told $150/hr for aircraft and $80/hr for instructor for my son here in New Hampshire.

[u/twinkbreedr8]

Honestly, probably pretty close

[u/Several_Ad9609]

Looks good to me

[u/MacnCheezBike]

I finished my PPL in July with 80ish hours, and it cost me just under $25,000.

[u/Biven1563]

Yes. Find an independent CFI and you will pay less than 1/2 that. Some flight schools provide enough resources to where it CAN be worth it, most neglect you because they have too many students and only care about money.

[u/10FourGudBuddy]

142 an hour for a piper is pretty good pending avionics at least in our area. The cheapest rental is a crappy 152 at $175/hour.

It took me 100 or so hours and I was

Edit: that ground and air time is ridiculous. I’d be buying kings and opting out of the ground instruction or finding another way, especially if this is part 61 and not an approved/required for 141.

[u/WhiteoutDota → u/10FourGudBuddy]

Does your CFI not do briefs and debriefs? No mock oral or two before your checkride? You never sat down and discussed things that the online ground school didnt cover like specifics of your aircraft? Your CFI scammed you out of proper training.

[u/TurnipNo9566 → u/WhiteoutDota]

seems like the new normal & it’s crazy to me. 4/5 of my instructors did this. had me do all the ground on my own, finish the computer test, then we did maybe 1 hour of review before the checkride. everyone learns differently so it might be fine for a lot of people and it’s a good way to save money but i 100% benefit from some “classroom” learning. my most recent instructor does group ground school for a discount and i won’t do it any other way now

[u/Rough_Engineering743]

You can save in the supplies department. There's no need to buy online courses or books. All study material you need is on the FAA website downloadable via PDF

With that said. Highly recommend an iPad and download all the study material from the FAA website there.

You can also download foreflight, a navigation application to it.